“Oh, the irony…”

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Shared by Kristina Smedley

"Oh the irony..."
 
It's already been a month since Breanne Smedleyand I were both honored to be asked to lead GRIT teams...
but I almost said No and turned down the opportunity.
It’s an honor because hundreds of people’s experiences with GRIT will be very dependent on the person who leads their team.
 
Will they look forward to showing up every day?
 
Will they feel connected to their teammates?
 
Will they feel valued and supported?
 
Will they believe they can make it through the 28 days? And if not, will they at least feel their team believes in them?
 
The GRIT team leader sets the tone… I know this from experience.
One team I was on had very little interaction.
We didn’t really chat throughout the week or cheer one another on. (thankfully this isn't the norm!)
 
Contrast that to a couple of other teams I’ve been on where we cheered one another on, talked about where we were struggling, shared our goals, and pushed one another to keep going.
 
The first type of team… not as engaging and inspiring.
The second type of team, I felt seen, heard, and supported. I got to know my teammates and truly felt part of our community.
When I may have wanted to quit on myself, there was no way I was quitting on my team. And that's what I needed... accountability!
 
GRIT, and StoryAthlete in general, is an open-source community that we are all creating for one another, with one another…. Of course, spearheaded by our amazing trainer,CJ Thomas, and StoryAthlete founder,Ryan Fletcher.
The community will be as great or as terrible as we all make it.
So, it’s important to me that everyone who comes into GRIT has a supportive team experience!
 
But I almost said NO to the opportunity because I didn’t know if I could dedicate the time to truly commit and live up to my own expectations of a team leader.
Aaahhhh… and as you’re reading this, you’re already seeing the irony.
How could I have high expectations of our leaders but not be willing to step up and live up to my own expectations?
 
So, the choice was easy...
Jump into leading a team and dedicate the time.
And I have to say that I am so thrilled to be leading our amazing team - Team#GritItGirl!
 
We are the first all-female team and I get to hang out with the most amazing women every day.
 
Leading our GRIT team is filling the only void I feel from being home from my corporate job on maternity leave for the last 5.5 months…
 
I miss my team.
 
I'm excited to lead another GRIT team in May!
 

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